THE REAL CONTENDER AWARDS 2020

I’m a little behind on getting my 2020 THE REAL CONTENDER AWARDS out to the public but 2020 was an odd and off beat year since most major releases were held back and instead I focused a lot of my attention to indie films.  For those of you not in the know, The Real Contender Awards is something I came up with a few years back to give voice to films from all genres which normally would go unnoticed by the “normal” award shows.  The other caveat is that the films all had to have been released in the year of the awards whether theatrical, streaming, or straight to video.  I’ve always hated that most awards shows period of eligibility stretched between two years.

 

And usually I use the month of January to view all the films that I had missed from the previous year (another reason why it took me until now to get out my 2020 list.  So, throughout the year I keep track of some of the best films and performances and technical production in order to come up with my exhaustive list of Nominees.  Now, unfortunately, if I didn’t see the film, it won’t be included on this list so don’t think I didn’t think it wasn’t a good film; on the contrary, I probably just hadn’t seen it yet.

 

I hope that in the end this list has you seeking out some of the films that you may have missed and I hope it sheds some like on some of the great films that were released in 2020!

 

BEST MAKEUP EFFECTS:

*FREAKY

*MANK

*GRETEL AND HANSEL

*TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

*HILLBILLY ELEGY

*HIS HOUSE

Winner: GRETEL AND HANSEL – I loved the work on display in HIS HOUSE and MANK but Alice Krige disappears in that makeup and not just that, but the look of everyone else in the film adds tremendously to the overall ambience of the film. 

 

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:

*THE INVISIBLE MAN

*TENET

*MONSTER HUNTER

*HIS HOUSE

*SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

*TRAIN TO BUSAN PRESENTS PENINSULA

Winner: TENET – this one was a close one as I loved what was on display in HIS HOUS and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG and THE INVISIBLE MAN was a lot of what you “don’t” see.  TENET was a visual tour de force of splendor!  This and the fact that the visual FX aid in the story of the film easily put this film ahead of all the rest.

 

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:

*BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN

*MANK

*TENET

*TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Winner: BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN – this was a visual masterpiece of creative energy from one set to the next.  It took you into a highly stylized universe and never let you go. 

 

BEST ART DIRECTION:

*BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN

*THE INVISIBLE MAN

*GRETEL AND HANSEL

*TRAIN TO BUSAN PRESENTS PENINSULA

*HUNTED

*MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Winner: MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM – another close one as all the films on this list deserve to be winners.  This film does so much with roughly only two main locations and every is a visual art piece with detail and authenticity.

 

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:

*TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

*MANK

*BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN

*MA RAINE’YS BLACK BOTTOM

Winner – MANK – this authentic era costume design put you right into Old Hollywood and reminded you of why it was such an amazing time for cinema.  This includes the film-within-a-film elements as well.  It was as if it was actually filmed in that era.  Costumes are used to help tell the story and it doesn’t get better than in this film.

 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

*MANK

*EXTRACTION

*THE INVISIBLE MAN

*HUNTED

*TENET

*HIS HOUSE

Winner: TENET – this was a cinematography tour de force!  Enough said!

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

*MANK, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

*UNDERWATER, Marco Beltrami & Brandon Roberts

*HILLBILLY ELEGY, Hans Zimmer & David Fleming

*TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, Daniel Pemberton

*THE INVISIBLE MAN, Benjamin Wallfisch

*TENET, Ludwig Goransson

*HIS HOUSE, Roque Banos

*MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM, Branford Marsalis

Winner: MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM – this was the closest race which is why there are so many nominations!?!  It was hard to choose between Marsalis, Reznor, Zimmer, and Goransson but in the end Marsalis edged them all out as music also played a tremendous role in the story of the film itself.  This is the closest year yet for this category while I also wanted to note that I was pleasantly surprised by Beltrami & Roberts and Banos, whose work I’m not as familiar with but I will seek out more!

 

BEST ANIMATED FILM:

*A CREEPSHOW ANIMATED SPECIAL

*SCOOB!

*THE WOLF HOUSE

*OVER THE MOON

Winner – SCOOB! – this was the hardest category to put together because frankly it was a year of so few animated films that I was even interested in.  CREEPSHOW was more a motion comic than an actual animated film while THE WOLF HOUSE was to experimental for its own good.  I enjoyed OVER THE MOON but thought SCOOB!, which I had no hopes for was actually a really well done take on an old cast of characters.

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

*MANK, Jack Fincher

*32 MALASANA STREET, Ramon Campos & Gema R. Neira and David Orea & Salvador S. Molina

*TENET, Christopher Nolan

*TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, Aaron Sorkin

*FREAKY, Michael Kennedy and Christopher Landon

*HUNTED, Vincent Paronnaud

Winner: MANK – this was a wonderfully nuanced and engaging screenplay with a huge cast of characters that all come together.  I thought TENET was also excellent but probably too cerebral for its own good while HUNTED was probably too simple yet metaphorical and relied on visuals maybe too much.

 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

*BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN, Christina Hodson

*HILLBILLY ELEGY, Vanessa Taylor

*THE INVISIBLE MAN, Leigh Whannell

*HIS HOUSE, Remi Weekes

*MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM, Ruben Santiago-Hudson

Winner: HIS HOUSE – this was such a creative haunted house/person film that had a strong screenplay in addition to the performances and direction.  The screenplay is great but it is definitely the perfect example of a screenplay being a “blueprint” for an amazing film.

 

BEST NON-FICTION FILM:

*ATHLETE A

*CRIP CAMP

*SCREAM, QUEEN: MY NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

*KISS THE GROUND

*MURDER TO MERCY: THE CYNTOIA BROWN STORY

*THE SOCIAL DILEMMA

Winner: ATHELETE A – all the films nominated here are amazing and topical and be required viewing as they all present socially relevant topics.  Although I absolutely loved THE SOCIAL DILEMMA and KISS THE GROUND, I felt ATHLETE A edged them out…by just a little.  2020 was an amazing year for non-fiction films as these are just a handful of the films that I watched that could have also been included on this list.

 

BEST FOREIGN FEATURE FILM:

*TRAIN TO BUSAN PRESENTS PENINSULA

*#ALIVE
*LA LLORONA

*HUNTED

*HIS HOUSE

Winner – HIS HOUSE – this was a close one between HIS HOUSE and LA LLORONA which both presented new takes on well-treaded material to amazing effect.  HIS HOUSE edged out LA LLORONA due to the visuals, cinematography, and amazing performances but both are still excellent films.

 

BEST SUPPORTING MALE ACTOR:

*Chiwetel Ejiofor, THE OLD GUARD

*Lamorne Morris, BLOODSHOT

*Robert Pattinson, TENET

*Charles Dance, MANK

*Sacha Baron Cohen, TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Winner: Sacha Baron Cohen, TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 – Cohen steals every scene he’s in and then some while giving a very nuanced and complex performance.  He easily eclipsed everyone else in this category despite all nominees being fine actors in their own films.

 

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE ACTOR:

*Alice Krige, GRETEL AND HANSEL

*Amanda Seyfried, MANK

*Glen Close, HILLBILLY ELEGY

Winner: Alice Krige, GRETEL AND HANSEL – Krige gives another amazing performance and practically disappears into the role!  She’s in great company this year with Close and Seyfried.  It’s a shame that I wasn’t able to include more names in this category but there were just so many more nominees as Best Actress this year!

 

BEST MALE ACTOR:

*John David Washington, TENET

*Gary Oldman, MANK

*Vince Vaughn, FREAKY

*Dong-Won Gang, TRAIN TO BUSAN PRESENTS PENINSULA

*Sope Dirisu, HIS HOUSE

*Chadwick Boseman, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Winner: Sope Dirisu, HIS HOUSE – Dirisi gives an underrated performance in HIS HOUSE which the entire film hinges on.  He’s in great company with Boseman and Oldman and everyone else but this film is all about the characters and their trials and tribulations that guide them.

 

BEST FEMALE ACTOR:

*Lucie DeBay, HUNTED

*Elizabeth Moss, THE INVISBLE MAN

*Begona Vargas, 32 MALASANA STREET

*Sarah Bolger, A GOOD WOMAN IS HARD TO FIND

*Wunmi Mosaku, HIS HOUSE

*Viola Davis, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Winner: Elizabeth Moss, THE INVISBLE MAN – Moss gives the most nuanced performance of her career in this film which is also topical as well as being an excellent sci-fi film.  The same can be said of DeBay, Vargas, and Mosaku, while Davis gives yet another amazing performance.  This was a tough category this year as any one of these women could have won this award for their performance.

 

BEST DIRECTION OF FEATURE FILM:

*TENET, Christopher Nolan

*TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, Aaron Sorkin

*THE INVISIBLE MAN, Leigh Whannell

*MANK, David Fincher

*HIS HOUSE, Remi Weekes

*MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM, George C. Wolfe

Winner: Christopher Nolan, TENET – this was just an amazing tour de force of cinema in every regards but especially in how Nolan was able to craft such a visually stunning film with all the performances and technical difficulties.  This is not a film that will be easily forgotten.

 

BEST FEATURE FILM:

*TENET

*TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

*THE INVISIBLE MAN

*MANK

*MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

*HIS HOUSE

Winner: TENET – but MANK was a very close second and HIS HOUSE came in third.  This was a very hard category as each of the nominees brought something different to audiences while also showcasing some great cinematic achievements.

 

There you have it!  The 2020 The Real Contender Awards are now over!  I’m really looking forward to seeing the films I missed for 2020 that couldn’t have been nominated such as The Eight Hundred, Palm Springs, Possessor, The Photograph, News of the World, The Lodge, Promising Young Woman, and Les Miserables, to name a few.

 

Please feel free to let me know your own thoughts!

MONTH OF 2020 FILMS

For 2021’s January themed month of film watching I decided that it was best to catch up on films from the previous year that had managed to pass me by, so this was the Month of 2020 Films!  This being said, I caught up with a lot of films from every genre which in turn will help me decide my 2020 Best of film lists.

 

DOCUMENTARIES:

I should start by saying that I (finally) jumped on the band wagon and watched the entire Netflix Tiger King mini-series which also meant that I watched the stand alone special The Tiger King & I.  I enjoyed the whole true crime docu-series and this film added to the overall series by placing it in our current quarantine times.  Injustice and true crime are appealing subjects for non-fiction films so of course I watched the following films Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story, The Three Deaths of Marisela Escobedo, and Athlete A.  Of the three, Athlete A was the best, but they all were eye opening in regard to their subject matter and overall execution.  Athlete A is one I recommend everyone watch.  The last two documentaries that I watched of the month were Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution and Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.  Dance Dreams is an amazing look at one of the premiere dance studios in the United States and their production of the Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.  Crip Camp is overall one of the best documentaries that was released in 2020. 

 

DRAMA:

Only caught up with three dramas this month.  Wished I had gotten around to more, but January was not an ideal month for dramas.  What I did get around to was an eclectic mix.  Watched Hillbilly Elegy, Mank, and Trial of the Chicago 7.  Mank was clearly the best of the bunch overall but Trial of the Chicago 7 and Hillbilly Elegy had some stand out performances even though there were other areas that were lacking.  Mank is by far one of director David Fincher’s best films in years and deserves the accolades it is being given.  I am surprised that Glen Close in Hillbilly Elegy is not being given just as much praise as she is phenomenal but then again, she is phenomenal in most everything. 

 

ACTION:

I only watched three action films in this month and two of them were based on comic books.  The first one is Extraction which had some amazing cinematography and action sequences.  Some of the best I have seen all year.  The two I watched that were based on comic books were vastly different from one another - The Old Guard and Wonder Woman: 1984.  Now, I have read the graphic novel on which The Old Guard is based and its pretty much spot on.  The film does a better job with bridging all the stories of the characters together and it does an amazing job with setting up the world of the film.  There are even whole scenes in the film lifted directly from the comic book.  Wonder Woman on the other hand is a mixed bag but it does a great job servicing the young female audience that it was designed to appeal to whereas the typical comic book fan may not be as impressed.  Some questionable CGI at the end does take away from the overall film.  The funny thing is that I believe all three of them will be getting sequels sometime soon.

 

HORROR:

The horror genre is what films I ended up watching the most of partially because so many more horror films were released last year than practically every other genre, so I felt like there was a lot for me to catch up with.  My Top 5 favorites were The Cleansing Hour, A Good Woman is Hard to Find, La Llorona, The Mortuary Collection, and Spiral, which were all different from one another.  Although not your standard horror film, Sarah Bolger gives a phenomenal performance in A Good Woman is Hard to Find.  Spiral gives one of the most genuine same sex relationship portrayals in a horror film which elevates the film about the new people moving into the neighborhood that has a supernatural cult in its mist.   The Mortuary Collection is one of the best anthology films to come around in several years that also has a great wrap-around segment and The Cleansing Hour is both fun and suspenseful with a fake internet exorcist having to contend with a real demon possession.  These are all films I highly recommend.

 

On the flip side are those films I would not recommend which include The Deeper You Dig and The Beach House which both had interesting concepts but bad execution.

 

The other horror films that were just okay were Blood Vessel, Castle Freak (remake), Confessional, Death of Me, Lingering, Porno, Scare Me, and The Soul Collector.  Lingering almost made the Top 5 and would probably be at #6 and Porno and Scare Me are great fun.  Blood Vessel is for those that enjoy vampire films, but I got bored (even though there is plenty of gore and is quite entertaining).  The original Castle Freak did not need a remake but at least this version has plenty of gore and takes on an overly Lovecraftian ending that is at least a good payoff.  Confessional was an interesting concept that was well done but just did not hold my attention.  Lingering and The Soul Collector are equally fine films that delve into their respective cultures and are easily some of the other highlights that I saw.

Overall, January ended up being a great month of film watching and catching up with a lot of films from 2020 that I had missed.  There were plenty more that I still did not get to but that will be for another time.  In the meantime, I hope you look out for some of these films and I hope my insight will be valuable for you.

 

Now, go away.  For February, my focus is a Month of International Films, so I have a lot of subtitles to read!

Film Review: THE LAZARUS EFFECT (2015)

Advances in medical science is the thing at the top of every medical student’s “to-do” list and nothing is more important than discovering a way to prolong death as the students in The Lazarus Effect (2015) soon discovers.  Frank and Zoe (Mark Duplass and Olivia Wilde, respectfully) are leading a group of some of the most intelligent medical students in their pursuit of prolonging or cheating death.  When they believe they are close they bring in Eva (Sarah Bolger) to help document everything.  After they bring a dog back from the dead they realize they have made a real breakthrough but the ramifications of what they have done eludes them.  When an accident in the lab causes Zoe to die they use everything they know to bring her back to life.  The only problem is that Zoe isn’t the same person that she was from before she died.  Having crossed to the Other Side has given Zoe supernatural abilities and an uncontrollable rage that threatens each person of the team.  Now Frank must decide what to do with his wife before all of their lives are in jeopardy. 

For fans of medical thrillers this starts off as a very well done suspenseful film with a great cast to support the story.  The film is written by Luke Dawson and Jeremy Slater and does an excellent job setting up the film and all the characters and their relationships with one another before everything gets out of hand.  What unfortunately happens is that the last third of the film turns into a slasher thriller destroying everything that came before.  The film also relies too much on the CGI visual FX in the second half of the film as Zoe seems to exhibit superhuman abilities akin to those of Scarlet Johansson’s character in Lucy (2014).  Once this happens anything can and does happen and the film falters from there never recovering.

This being said it is still entertaining and the cast does the most with the film as it goes downhill but if they had just taken a little more care this could’ve been a great film instead a mediocre one.